A Promise
by JT4Life
Summary: What *really* happened in the Shrine for Sheyla!


Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate or anything related to it, it all belongs to TPTB :)

Spoilers: For SGA season 5 ep, The Shrine. Yep, that's it.

A/N: I got this idea a while ago, but only got to write it today. This what happened for JT during the Shine that we never got to see, in my mind at least! Hope y'all like it, and I might turn it into a series, but i dunno... what do you guys think? As always, I love hearing what y'all have to say, so reviews are welcomed with a mug of hot cocoa and marshmallows. ;)

Enjoy!

ps. I just remembered! there's a JT fic i started last spring that i never finished! gahhh! it's been almost a year! Shame on me!! (repeatedly bangs head against desk)

xxxxxxx

John Sheppard had always thought that he'd had a decent tolerance for the cold.

Now, he was mentally kicking himself for ever even considering that.

The glacial water had filled the whole valley that the stargate just happened to be in the dead center of. He, Teyla, Rodney and Ronon were all sitting on top of the gate, the only dry section that stuck out of the water for a good few miles around. John peeked over the edge of the gate into the icy water not more than two feet below the team's dry, but certainly not warm, sanctuary. He leaned over a bit more and found that the water had only receded by an inch, if not less, since he'd last checked. And that was thirty minutes ago. He gave an involuntary shiver due to the cold that was seeping into his bones. A full half hour since he'd dialed Atlantis for help. At this rate, they'd be there for quite a while.

Great.

He tried to calculate how long they'd be stuck out there until the jumper could get through but was painfully distracted by Rodney's whimpering. They were _all_ cold, so he could just suck it up. But then again, who was he to judge? Maybe McKay really had been sick before the mission, and he truly was worse off than the rest of them.

Eventually, John gave up trying to measure the amount of feet the water still had to drop. It was making his head hurt, plus the water was rippling and in a constant state of motion which made it near impossible to make any calculations that were even vaguely accurate. He resumed his position on top on the gate- knees pulled tightly up against his torso and his chin tucked between the tops of his knees and his chest.

The four of them sat there in silence for what felt like an hour or more, but turned out to only be another half hour, according to John's watch. He made a face, but not so that the others could see it.

He glanced sideways at Teyla who was sitting on his left. She was trying to squeeze the water out of her hair over the edge of the gate. John knew it wouldn't help much, but didn't have the heart to tell her so. All of a sudden, Teyla let out a small cry and, having leaned just a tad too far over the edge, fell in the water.

"Teyla!" John called, and swiftly moved over to where she had fallen in. He was prepared to jump in after her if need be, but he was wishing it wouldn't come to that. Ronon and Rodney had both joined him on the edge of the gate as the three of them waited for her to resurface.

John knew something was wrong when she didn't come up after a few seconds.

_So much for staying somewhat dry_, he thought. Without hesitation, John dove in after her. The cold water immediately sent his body into shock. It was as if his lungs were being crushed by the sheer force of the cold; giving him much less time before he would have to come up for a breath.

He didn't open his eyes, but he reached out with his hands, groping blindly in the area where she had fallen. He waved his arms again, a bit deeper this time, and felt his hand pass through Teyla's soft hair. About to run out of air, John made a frantic kick to reach just far enough to wrap his arms around her. Once she was secured in his arms, he kicked as hard as he could, propelling them both to the surface at a considerably slower rate since he was pulling more than his own weight without using his arms. When they finally broke the surface, John was spluttering and shaking, gasping and madly trying to draw some oxygen into his lungs, fearing that he couldn't keep them both afloat like this. Strong hands reached out and pulled both him and Teyla up and out of the water and into the even more frigid air.

"Easy, we gotcha," he heard Ronon's gruff voice saying from somewhere above him. John opened his eyes and found that Ronon and Rodney (mainly Ronon) had pulled them to the very top of the gate. There wasn't much room to move about, but John managed to sit up and then bent over Teyla's unmoving form. It scared him to see her like this. Lips blue, not breathing, and very cold to the touch. Immediately, John began performing CPR. He counted the times he pressed his double-handed fist to her chest, then pressed his mouth to hers and breathed. Her lips were so, so cold against his. As Ronon and Rodney watched anxiously, John repeated his actions again.

Even part of him tingled with fear at the thought of her not waking up. _She will wake up,_ he told himself as he worked, _because I can't even think about living without her._

This was one of the first times John had honestly admitted to himself that he had feelings for Teyla. He hadn't thought it in so many words, but the emotions he was feeling right now betrayed him completely. He pushed these thoughts into the back of his mind for the time being as he began trying to revive her yet again.

It wasn't until the third round of mouth-to-mouth that Teyla's eyes finally fluttered open. John breathed a sigh of utter relief as he gently helped her roll onto her side. Teyla coughed violently, spewing water over the side of the gate. John rubbed his hand against her arm as he gently held her back from the edge, patiently waiting for her to cough all the water out of her lungs.

"Th-th-thank you, J-John," she said, teeth chattering in the cold, as she rolled onto her back again, looking right up at John.

"Don't mention it," he replied with a smile, despite the fact that he was beginning to loose the feeling in his toes. "What happened down there?" he asked, smoothly wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her up into a sitting position beside him. He didn't let his arm drop from her shoulders.

"I… I'm not quite sure," Teyla stammered. Her teeth chattered and John drew her in tighter to him, resuming the action of rubbing his hand up and down her arm. "I believe I hit my head on the side of the gate when I fell in, but I cannot be sure… everything is… rather foggy. The last thing I can clearly remember is falling in. That is all…"

Teyla looked up into John's eyes as if she were seeking his understanding, something that he gave fully and showed her so by simply nodding. Teyla gazed back at him, a soft sparkle in her eyes. John knew that they fully understood one another. It was something they'd always been able to do with perfect ease. From something as uncomplicated as a glance across the room to a smile to a nod, they always seemed to be able to connect in some small, apparently insignificant way. But for him and Teyla, it could say more than any amount of words could.

Lots in his thoughts, John didn't register that Teyla had laid her head on his chest, tucking herself in comfortably under his chin, eyes closed, a smile playing on the corners of her mouth. Temporarily stunned, John glanced at Ronon and Rodney. Ronon was failing miserably at hiding his grin, but innocently raised his hands in the air when John shot him a look. Rodney simply gave a small 'humph', rolled his eyes, and muttered 'Kirk' under his breath, but John and Ronon still heard it, the latter of whom chuckled and clapped McKay on the shoulder, with almost enough force to knock the scientist into the water as well.

John could've sworn he'd heard a muffled laugh coming from Teyla too, and he blushed slightly and began stroking her hair with his free hand.

X

Thankfully, the water began receding more rapidly as time went on, so much than in only two hours the levels were low enough to bring a rescue jumper in.

When the team finally entered the back of the jumper, they were greeted by one military officer by the name of Jefferson (who possessed the Ancient gene, John remembered), and one of Dr. Keller's medical staff to make sure they were all ok for the time being.

It had never felt so good to be warm.

They were all given a change of clothes. Warm, dry clothes that felt as though they'd just come out of the dryer. They each took turns heading into the front compartment to change, and John, who was one of the last in line to get changed, very gentleman-like offered to Teyla to go before him. The smile she flashed him before the compartment doors slid shut behind her sent butterflies into John's stomach. It wasn't the first time she'd had that affect on him.

When she returned, John quickly straightened up and casually ran a hand through his hair, making it messier than it already was when wet. Teyla sat down opposite where he stood and wrapped herself in a thermal blanket, courtesy of the medic. She looked much better now that she'd gotten something warm and dry on. Her hair was still a bit wet, but her lips and cheeks had gotten some of the color back into them, so John took it that she was feeling better. He caught himself staring at her as he looked her over, and he could only hope and pray that Teyla hadn't noticed too. His wish was crushed when he saw her blush faintly out of the corner of his eyes as he entered the cockpit.

_Stupid. Idiot._

X

When John was fully dressed and feeling better than he'd felt in the last few days, in fact, he re-entered the main compartment of the jumper to find only Teyla and a sleeping Rodney remaining.

"Where'd everybody go?" he asked Teyla, sitting down beside her and grabbing a thermal blanket of his own.

"Ronon and Mr. Jefferson have gone to check the water levels to see when we will be able to take the jumper back without flooding the gate room," she replied. "Ronon insisted on going to help, so Dr. Keller's staff member insisted on accompanying him to make sure Ronon wasn't getting frostbite from being out in the cold again. And Rodney-" she gestured to his sleeping form, "- was fast asleep within a minute after you left."

John nodded and gave a small chuckle. The few scarce times they had an hour, much less a day off, Rodney McKay could be found asleep, eating, or asleep with a sandwich resting in his hand.

"John?" Teyla asked.

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to thank you again… for saving me."

"You're welcome," he replied, glancing up into her now solemn face.

"I could have drowned," Teyla continued, suddenly very preoccupied with a loose string on her blanket, "had you waited much longer to pull me out, or had you not revived me with such efficiency."

"Think nothing of it," John said and gave her another smile, amused at her choice of words.

They sat in silence for a few seconds. "John?" Teyla asked again.

John turned his head to look at her again since she had just addressed him, but then the unthinkable happened. When John had turned his head to look at her, Teyla swiftly reached over and, placing both her hands on either side of his neck, planted a kiss on John's lips.

His mind was in a whirlwind. John couldn't think straight. The only thing that made sense in his head was that he was getting kissed by an amazing woman. A few seconds later, it was over. Teyla pulled away from him, her hands still on his neck, and studied his baffled yet awed face for a moment. John suddenly discovered that his hands had somehow gotten wrapped around her, one on her waist and the other around the back of her neck. Funny, he didn't remember telling them to do that.

"I owe you so much, John Sheppard," Teyla spoke softly, almost in a whisper. "So much that I can only try to make it all up to you." John gazed into her eyes and saw how sincere she was.

Seeing that they were still holding each other, John drew her closer to him again so that their foreheads touched in the traditional Athosian manner.

"You don't owe me anything, Teyla," he whispered back.

Teyla pulled back, placing both hands on either side of his face. "And that is precisely why I am in your debt," she spoke in earnest. "You give so much to everyone and never ask for anything in return. That alone warrants that you should be given a few gifts without even asking for them."

John looked Teyla in the eyes, silently asking her something… asking her permission. He had only to stare into her eyes for a moment to get his answer. So John leaned forward once again, ever so slowly, until their faces were no more than an inch apart. He closed his eyes and tenderly brushed his lips against hers. She responded to his touch and kissed him back, running a hand through his hopelessly messy hair. John wrapped his arms around her, pressing her closer to him, when-

"Oh my god!"

They broke apart quickly, both blushing madly. John found the source of the voice in a heartbeat.

McKay was awake. Great, who else?

Rodney was starring back and forthe between the two of them, trying to form a coherent sentence. "You two… what? But I thought… no, no, no, no, I was kidding about the Kirk thing! _Kidding!_ And now you've gone and… made into all of… _this!_ Oh man…"

Right then, the jumper door opened and Ronon, the medic and Jefferson came back in. As if on Q, Rodney quite abruptly collapsed. In the rush that followed, no one seemed to notice just how close John and Teyla were when the door had first opened. They both managed to push the events that took place in the back of the puddle jumper out of their minds for the moment, since everyone's priority was to cure Rodney.

X

A few days later, after the whole ordeal with McKay and the parasite was done and over, with relatively no harm done, John made a trip to the infirmary to see his friend. He entered and found Teyla and Ronon already there around his bed.

"Did I miss the party?" John joked as he approached Rodney's bedside.

"Nope, not all," Mckay replied. "I was just informing Teyla and Ronon that that parasite might have more abilities that we initially thought it did!" The scientist was obviously excited by his newest discovery, and since Rodney was the one in the infirmary bed, John decided to humor him. He didn't look that sick anymore, that was for sure.

"So… what exactly can it do?" John asked, trying to sound interested.

Rodney beamed at the opportunity to talk freely without being shushed. "I have hypothesized that it may, in the early stages of latching onto its host, release a hallucinogenic substance into the host's brain! "

John was really trying to look impressed, but only managed to raise his eyebrows and say "Wow".

"And I have proof!" Rodney exclaimed, his index finger waving triumphantly in the air. "I was kind of in and out of it in the back of the jumper for a while, and I remember seeing some crazy stuff, and now listen to this one, it'll make you laugh," Rodney continued with a chuckle. "I hallucinated that you and Teyla were snogging each other in the back of the jumper! How insane is that?"

"Yeah… just crazy," John mumbled, looking anywhere but at Teyla. He hadn't thought about _that_ in a while. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and chanced a side-glance at Teyla. To his relief, she was giggling and putting on a much better show than he was in terms of hiding the fact that Rodney little hallucination was, in fact, very real. He caught a glance of Ronon who was eyeing him and Teyla suspiciously.

"Um… in your hallucination," John began slowly, choosing his words very carefully, "were 'Teyla and I'," -here he made air quotes for emphasis- "really snogging? Or, y'know, just kissing?"

Rodney thought about it for a minute. God bless him and his ability to be so unaware of certain things when he really needed to be. "Actually," McKay began, "I think it was closer to making out than just snogging." He shrugged. "Why so interested, Sheppard?"

"Oh, you know me, just curious, that's all," John casually shrugged and made a point of staring at a speck of dust on the floor by his feet.

X

After the visit, the three non-hospitalized members of the team parted ways to carry on with their daily jobs. John just happened to be going the same way as Teyla for most of his trek across the city.

They walked in silence for a few yards until John tipped his head closer to Teyla's as they continued, and whispered quietly in her ear, "It wasn't really 'making out', was it?"

Teyla just laughed and gave his hand a quick squeeze. "Not if you do not want it to be, John."

They had reached a fork in the hallway. John stood by the left, branch and Teyla by the right. They nodded to each other in a slightly awkward goodbye. Before each went their own way, Teyla called to him from her doorway:

"I will try and find ways to repay you for all the kindness and love you have always shown me, John. I promise you that."

With one last brilliant smile, Teyla was off and walking away and down her hallway, leaving John still standing at the fork for a moment until he too set off on his path, wondering how he was lucky enough to be so close to such a beautiful woman, both inside and out.

* * *

The End!


End file.
